HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN FEBRUARY 1996 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,490,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 3 (+/-8) percent above the revised January rate of 1,447,000 and 13 (+/-8) percent above the February 1995 rate of 1,322,000. Single-family housing starts in February 1996 were at a rate of 1,170,000; this is 3 (+/-7) percent above the January figure of 1,140,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 292,000. The February rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 28,000. During the first 2 months of this year, 184,300 housing units were started compared with 166,100 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 11 (+/-5) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in February was 1,393,000; this is 2 (+/-1) percent above the revised January rate of 1,372,000 and 9 (+/-1) percent above the February 1995 estimate of 1,282,000. Single-family authorizations in February 1996 were at a rate of 1,067,000; this is 2 (+/-1) percent above the January figure of 1,050,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 270,000 in February. The February rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 56,000. During the first 2 months of this year, 180,700 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 160,300 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 13 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In January, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 352,000, the same as the December rate. The January 1995 rate was 345,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in January 1996 were 27,100. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, April 16, 1996, at 8:30 A.M. EDT. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90- percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The December 1995/January 1996 Current Construction Reports, C20/96-1, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: FEBRUARY 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - February 1,322 1,051 44 227 March 1,241 992 35 214 April 1,278 1,017 25 236 May 1,300 1,005 36 259 June 1,301 1,036 35 230 July 1,450 1,125 39 286 August 1,401 1,135 28 238 September 1,401 1,130 39 232 October 1,351 1,109 31 211 November 1,458 1,129 32 297 December(r) 1,425 1,150 29 246 1996 - January(r) 1,447 1,140 21 286 FEBRUARY(p) 1,490 1,170 28 292 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 9 9 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 1995(r) 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 5 1 1995 First 2 months 166.1 128.9 2.2 2.5 32.5 1996 First 2 months 184.3 142.2 1.0 1.9 39.2 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 12 14 6 1995 - February 81.6 65.3 1.4 1.0 13.8 March 103.8 85.3 1.4 1.8 15.3 April 116.9 93.9 1.1 1.1 20.8 May 130.5 102.3 1.3 1.8 25.0 June 123.4 100.5 1.6 1.9 19.4 July 129.1 102.0 1.8 1.9 23.4 August 135.8 108.5 0.6 2.1 24.6 September 122.4 97.7 1.7 1.7 21.3 October 126.2 101.5 0.8 1.6 22.2 November 107.2 82.0 1.2 1.6 22.4 December(r) 92.8 73.7 0.5 1.3 17.2 1996 - January(r) 89.9 68.3 0.3 0.9 20.4 FEBRUARY(p) 94.4 73.9 0.7 1.0 18.8 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 14 11 9 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: FEBRUARY 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - February 1,322 132 280 562 348 March 1,241 137 275 553 276 April 1,278 108 276 577 317 May 1,300 129 256 576 339 June 1,301 124 289 567 321 July 1,450 115 290 713 332 August 1,401 119 320 626 336 September 1,401 116 308 616 361 October 1,351 120 278 606 347 November 1,458 103 318 708 329 December(r) 1,425 93 305 679 348 1996 - January(r) 1,447 95 329 621 402 FEBRUARY(p) 1,490 127 291 647 425 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 6 4 6 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 1995(r) 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 First 2 months 166.1 12.1 24.6 84.3 45.1 1996 First 2 months 184.3 10.8 26.9 90.1 56.6 AVG. RSE (%) 2 8 4 4 3 1995 - February 81.6 5.9 12.7 40.2 22.9 March 103.8 9.5 20.7 49.3 24.2 April 116.9 9.6 25.9 53.5 27.9 May 130.5 13.1 27.7 56.5 33.2 June 123.4 13.1 31.0 49.5 29.9 July 129.1 10.6 26.6 61.9 30.0 August 135.8 12.0 33.7 56.7 33.4 September 122.4 10.4 28.6 51.7 31.7 October 126.2 12.1 29.6 53.6 30.9 November 107.2 8.6 24.7 51.6 22.3 December(r) 92.8 6.5 17.1 46.3 22.8 1996 - January(r) 89.9 4.9 14.4 43.2 27.4 FEBRUARY(p) 94.4 5.9 12.5 46.9 29.2 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 6 4 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica FIlipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: FEBRUARY 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - February 1,282 931 54 297 March 1,235 911 67 257 April 1,243 905 61 277 May 1,243 930 63 250 June 1,275 958 65 252 July 1,355 1,011 61 283 August 1,368 1,044 63 261 September 1,405 1,073 72 260 October 1,384 1,051 68 265 November 1,448 1,069 73 306 December 1,478 1,110 64 304 1996 - January(r) 1,372 1,050 65 257 FEBRUARY(p) 1,393 1,067 56 270 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 1995 1,333.0 999.1 33.3 32.0 268.6 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) 2 3 1 1995 First 2 months 160.3 119.1 3.9 3.5 33.9 1996 First 2 months 180.7 138.0 4.1 3.5 35.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 4 1 1995 - February 81.3 60.3 2.0 1.4 17.6 March 113.4 86.0 3.1 3.0 21.3 April 110.2 83.2 2.8 2.5 21.6 May 122.7 95.4 3.4 2.7 21.3 June 129.3 97.5 3.3 3.3 25.1 July 116.4 88.5 2.3 2.4 23.2 August 132.3 101.0 3.2 3.0 25.1 September 121.6 89.5 3.0 3.1 26.0 October 121.1 90.3 3.2 3.3 24.2 November 107.2 77.8 3.0 3.0 23.5 December 96.7 68.4 2.0 2.0 24.2 1996 - January(r) 87.3 65.5 2.1 1.9 17.8 FEBRUARY(p) 93.4 72.5 2.0 1.7 17.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 5 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - February 113.6 64.7 3.7 45.2 December(r) 142.2 80.1 4.5 57.6 1996 - January(r) 138.5 80.1 5.3 53.2 FEBRUARY(p) 138.7 82.7 5.2 50.8 AVG. RSE(%) 3 4 9 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: FEBRUARY 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - February 1,282 115 280 547 340 March 1,235 125 275 564 271 April 1,243 128 269 540 306 May 1,243 115 266 539 323 June 1,275 114 280 556 325 July 1,355 113 297 601 344 August 1,368 118 304 601 345 September 1,405 124 299 631 351 October 1,384 122 310 629 323 November 1,448 122 318 641 367 December 1,478 129 306 646 397 1996 - January(r) 1,372 107 308 588 369 FEBRUARY(p) 1,393 116 307 588 382 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 1995 1,333.0 123.0 291.9 587.0 331.1 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) 1 1 1 1 1995 First 2 months 160.3 12.6 26.2 80.4 41.2 1996 First 2 months 180.7 11.5 30.0 89.0 50.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 1995 - February 81.3 5.5 13.7 39.4 22.7 March 113.4 10.2 24.1 53.9 25.2 April 110.2 11.3 24.9 47.2 26.8 May 122.7 12.0 29.5 50.6 30.6 June 129.3 12.1 29.3 53.4 34.5 July 116.4 10.5 27.0 49.2 29.8 August 132.3 11.9 31.3 56.0 33.0 September 121.6 10.8 27.5 54.2 29.1 October 121.1 11.7 30.6 51.7 27.1 November 107.2 10.2 24.3 46.4 26.3 December 96.7 7.9 17.3 43.6 27.8 1996 - January(r) 87.3 5.5 14.0 44.2 23.5 FEBRUARY(p) 93.4 6.0 15.9 44.9 26.6 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - February 113.6 16.1 13.6 59.4 24.5 December(r) 142.2 18.3 18.7 71.6 33.5 1996 - January(r) 138.5 18.6 17.7 72.7 29.6 FEBRUARY(p) 138.7 16.9 21.1 72.8 28.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 11 11 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703.